Film Independent Spirit Awards: 'Uncut Gems,' 'The Lighthouse' Lead Nominations

10:22 AM 11/21/2019

by Hilary Lewis

'Honey Boy' and 'Give Me Liberty' landed four noms each, followed by 'Clemency,' 'Hustlers,' 'The Last Black Man in San Francisco,' 'Luce' and 'The Third Wife,' with three apiece.

A24 dominated the nominations for the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were announced Thursday.

The company scored 18 mentions, with two of its films, Uncut Gems and The Lighthouse, landing a leading five noms each.

The Safdie brothers' Adam Sandler starrer Uncut Gems is nominated for the top prize of best feature, along with best director, best editing, best male lead (Sandler) and best screenplay. Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, is nominated for best cinematography, best director, best editing, best male lead (Pattinson) and best supporting male (Dafoe). 

For best feature, Uncut Gems will face off against Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life; Chinonye Chukwu's Clemency, starring Alfre Woodard; Lulu Wang's Awkwafina starrer The Farewell and Noah Baumbach's Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson starrer Marriage Story.

Honey Boy and Give Me Liberty landed four noms each, followed by Clemency, Hustlers, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Luce and The Third Wife with three apiece. Burning Cane, Colewell, Driveways, Diane, The Farewell, Marriage Story, The Mustang, Premature and See You Yesterday each scored two noms. Marriage Story will also be recognized with the Robert Altman Award, given to a film's director, casting director and ensemble cast.

Josh and Benny Safdie and Eggers will vie for best director honors with Honey Boy's Alma Har'el, Hustlers' Lorene Scafaria and Luce's Julius Onah.

Honey Boy joins The Lighthouse, Hustlers, The Third Wife and Midsommar in the best cinematography category, and it landed two noms for best supporting male for Noah Jupe and Shia LaBeouf.

Give Me Liberty is up for best editing, best male lead, best supporting female and the John Cassavetes Award, given to the best feature made for under $500,000.

Clemency is also up for best female lead (Woodard) and best screenplay, competing in the latter category with Marriage Story, Uncut Gems, High Flying Bird and To Dust.

Hustlers' Jennifer Lopez scored a best supporting female nod, alongside Waves' Taylor Russell, Give Me Liberty's Lolo Spencer, Luce's Octavia Spencer and The Farewell's Zhao Shuzhen.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is up for best first feature along with Olivia Wilde's Booksmart, Michael Angelo Covino's The Climb, Kent Jones' Diane, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre's The Mustang and Stefon Bristol's Spike Lee-produced See You Yesterday.

Woodard will face off in the best female lead category against Judy star Renee Zellweger, Colewell's Karen Allen, Driveways' Hong Chau, Her Smell's Elisabeth Moss and Diane's Mary Kay Place.

In the best male lead category, Sandler and Pattinson join Give Me Liberty's Chris Galust, Luce's Kelvin Harrison Jr. and The Mustang's Matthias Schoenaerts.

Zazie Beetz and Natasha Lyonne announced the nominees during a press conference at Los Angeles' Line Hotel.

The 35th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards are set to be held Feb. 8 and will air on IFC.

Read on for a full list of this year's nominees.

  • Best Feature

    Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.

    'Clemency'
    'Clemency'
    Courtesy of TIFF

    A Hidden Life
    Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter

    Clemency
    Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong

    The Farewell
    Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng

    Marriage Story
    Producers: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman

    Uncut Gems
    Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Scott Rudin

  • Best First Feature

    Award given to the director and producer.

    'Booksmart'
    'Booksmart'
    Annapurna Pictures

    Booksmart
    Director: Olivia Wilde
    Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman

    The Climb
    Director/Producer: Michael Angelo Covino
    Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin

    Diane
    Director: Kent Jones
    Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman

    The Last Black Man in San Francisco
    Director/Producer: Joe Talbot
    Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh

    The Mustang
    Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
    Producer: Ilan Goldman

    See You Yesterday
    Director: Stefon Bristol
    Producer: Spike Lee

  • John Cassavetes Award

    Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

    'Wild Nights With Emily'
    'Wild Nights With Emily'
    Courtesy of Anna Stypko

    Burning Cane
    Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans
    Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer, Wendell Pierce, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans

    Colewell
    Writer/Director: Tom Quinn
    Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm

    Give Me Liberty
    Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky
    Writer/Producer: Alice Austen
    Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern

    Premature
    Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green
    Writer: Zora Howard
    Producer: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes

    Wild Nights With Emily
    Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek
    Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron

  • Best Director

    'The Lighthouse'
    'The Lighthouse'
    Courtesy of A24

    Alma Har'el, Honey Boy
    Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers
    Julius Onah, Luce
    Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
    Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems

  • Best Screenplay

    'High Flying Bird'
    'High Flying Bird'
    Courtesy of Netflix

    Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
    Jason Begue & Shawn Snyder, To Dust
    Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
    Chinonye Chukwu, Clemency
    Tarell Alvin McCraney, High Flying Bird

  • Best First Screenplay

    'See You Yesterday'
    'See You Yesterday'
    Linda Kallerus/Netflix

    Fredrica Bailey & Stefon Bristol, See You Yesterday
    Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen, Driveways
    Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy, Blow the Man Down
    Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe, Greener Grass
    James Montague & Craig W. Sanger, The Vast of Night

  • Best Cinematography

    'Midsommar'
    'Midsommar'
    Merie Weismiller Wallace/A24

    Todd Banhazl, Hustlers
    Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse
    Natasha Braier, Honey Boy
    Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife
    Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommar

  • Best Editing

    'The Third Wife'
    'The Third Wife'
    San Sebastian International Film Festival

    Julie Béziau, The Third Wife
    Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems
    Tyler L. Cook, Sword of Trust
    Louise Ford, The Lighthouse
    Kirill Mikhanovsky, Give Me Liberty

  • Best Female Lead

    Elisabeth Moss in 'Her Smell'
    Elisabeth Moss in 'Her Smell'

    Karen Allen, Colewell
    Hong Chau, Driveways
    Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell
    Mary Kay Place, Diane
    Alfre Woodard, Clemency
    Renée Zellweger, Judy

  • Best Male Lead

    Adam Sandler in 'Uncut Gems'
    Adam Sandler in 'Uncut Gems'
    Courtesy of Netflix

    Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty
    Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luce
    Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse
    Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang
    Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems

  • Best Supporting Female

    Jennifer Lopez in 'Hustlers'
    Jennifer Lopez in 'Hustlers'
    STX

    Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
    Taylor Russell, Waves
    Lauren "LoLo" Spencer, Give Me Liberty
    Octavia Spencer, Luce
    Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell

  • Best Supporting Male

    Noah Jupe (left) and Shia LaBeouf in 'Honey Boy'
    Noah Jupe (left) and Shia LaBeouf in 'Honey Boy'
    Courtesy of Amazon Studios

    Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
    Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
    Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy
    Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
    Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane

  • Robert Altman Award

    Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

    'Marriage Story'
    'Marriage Story'
    Courtesy of Netflix

    Marriage Story
    Director: Noah Baumbach
    Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
    Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever

  • Best Documentary

    Award given to the director and producer.

    American Factory
    Director/Producer: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert
    Producers: Julie Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert

    Apollo 11
    Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller
    Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Petersen

    For Sama
    Director: Edward Watts
    Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab

    Honeyland
    Director: Tamara Kotevska
    Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov
    Producer: Atanas Georgiev

    Island of the Hungry Ghosts
    Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady
    Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh

  • Best International Film

    Award given to the director

    'Parasite'
    'Parasite'
    Courtesy of Neon and CJ Entertainment

    Invisible Life (Brazil), Director: Karim Aïnouz
    Les Misérables (France), Director: Ladj Ly
    Parasite (South Korea), Director: Bong Joon-Ho
    Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France), Director: Céline Sciamma
    Retablo (Peru), Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L.
    The Souvenir (United Kingdom), Director: Joanna Hogg

  • Bonnie Award

    Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the second Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.

    From left: Marielle Heller, Kelly Reichardt, Lulu Wang
    From left: Marielle Heller, Kelly Reichardt, Lulu Wang
    Dominik Bindl/FilmMagic; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Presley Ann/Getty Images

    Marielle Heller
    Kelly Reichardt
    Lulu Wang

  • Producers Award

    The 22nd annual Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

    Mollye Asher
    Krista Parris
    Ryan Zacarias

  • Someone to Watch Award

    The 25th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

    Rashaad Ernesto Green, Director of Premature
    Ash Mayfair, Director of The Third Wife
    Joe Talbot, Director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco

  • Truer Than Fiction Award

    The 24th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

    Khalik Allah, Director of Black Mother
    Davy Rothbart, Director of 17 Blocks
    Nadia Shihab, Director of Jaddoland
    Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside, Director of América